Repair teams poised to begin work restoring Damascus water

January 7, 2017 1:32 pm

By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Beirut, Lebanon, Jan 7 – Repair teams were poised to enter a restive region near Damascus on Saturday to begin work on restoring the Syrian capital’s water supply, state media said.

Millions of people have been without water for weeks after fighting damaged key infrastructure in the Wadi Barada region that is the main water source for Damascus.

Clashes continued there overnight and into Saturday morning, killing seven Syrian government soldiers and two civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

But by late morning, state media said maintenance teams had arrived in the area 15 kilometres (10 miles) northwest of Damascus and were “prepared to enter” to begin repair work.

A source close to the regime said a temporary ceasefire had been agreed to allow the repair crews to enter, though it could take days before the mains supply is restored.

Fighting has raged in Wadi Barada for several weeks, despite the December 30 start of a ceasefire brokered by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey.

The truce has held across much of the country, though it does not apply to the Islamic State group or former Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, now known as Fateh al-Sham Front.

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Agence France-Presse is a global news agency delivering fast, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from wars and conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology.